This time of year many people are gearing up for school. Mom’s are getting their youngest ready for kindergarten. Students are planning what they and their friends are going to wear for that first day. There is a sense of excitement in the air. Students are looking forward to seeing friends, meeting new teachers, and getting to learn new things. The teachers are also looking forward to sharing knowledge, challenging their students, and seeing their students’ minds grow.

Sometimes I think that we all need something like going back to school to get us excited again. Have we lost the sense of excitement in learning new things? Have we lost the sense of expectancy in our lives that children have every year?

I think we need that sense of the new in our lives. We need to know, like the weeping prophet Jeremiah, that God’s mercies are new every morning. It is not the same thing every day. God is doing something exciting in our lives. He is working! Yet, does our sense of excitement equal the hope that God’s work in our lives should give us?

Perhaps we need something that starts us over with God. What will it be for you? I have used conferences or a special trip to start anew with God. I have been encouraged by our local retreat center to come out for a weekend to focus on God. It doesn’t have to be much – but it has to mean something to you. It needs to be something that you anticipate. Whatever it is, do you know that you need it today?

I think that we feel reticent about having times that we start over because we are no longer kids. However, kids have this part easy. They have to start over every year. It’s required of them! Instead of feeling uneasy about doing it ourselves, we need to consider it a necessary part of growing. So, start over this fall with God. Notice the work that He is doing in you. Enjoy the closeness that you’ve been searching for. Rejoice today that His mercies truly are new every morning. He is faithful!
Something to think about,
Pastor John